Um Gigante de Talento

The movie talks about an assistant basketball trainer called Jimmy Dolan (Kevin Bacon) who watching a documentary observes a b-ball African sportsman .Then , he heads for Africa hoping to recruit him in the biggest US team . He's a giant and talented young called Saleh but he doesn't want to leave the tribe because being the throne's heir . The tribe is formed by natives Massai-alike . Then they make a wager playing one team against another . Besides , the protagonist will have to surpass hard proofs with purport in converting himself a brave warrior and can play in tribe's team.

The picture is an amusing sports comedy with agreeable and likable interpretation from its principal starring . Enjoyable plot , though sometimes is a little ridiculous and absurd and utilizes tired stereotypical ; however , the film is entertaining and funny . Besides , there is a slight exposition about habits and customs of the African tribes , where are seen how the cows are essential in their lives and particular ceremonies , rites , dances and marriage ceremony . Plus , it has an exciting and moving final tournament that is truly exciting ; and this ending climatic game results to be the highlight film.

Jolly and lively musical score , adding African sounds by David Newman . Glimmer and colorful cinematography by cameraman Dick Pope (Mike Leigh's photographer) , it is well reflected in the spectacular African outdoors. The motion picture was professionally directed by Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky and Hutch). The flick will appeal to basketball buffs . Rating : Acceptable , passable and bemusing .

When college basketball coach Jimmy Dolan loses the hottest new recruit by beating him in a game of one on one and damaging his pride he loses his job and looks for a way to get back. He sees a brilliant African player on a home movie and travels to Kenya to recruit him. However Saleh is the Chief's son and has his own problems as a mining company is trying to get control of the tribe's land.

Bacon is not really a lead actor but someone who can give a good performance in co-lead or support. Here he has a film to carry on his own and struggles with it. Mainly it's due to the formulaic nature of the plot – lets be honest, even from the plot outline above I bet you could guess how's it going to end. However that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable – just not very good. It has plenty of nice laughs and the basketball action is fun and will directed if not realistic.

Despite the formula the cast mainly do quite well, but really it never manages to get above the sort of formulaic sports comedy that we see so often. However it is entertaining and I did enjoy just switching off my brain and letting it go in one ear and out the other.

Instantly forgettable and very by the numbers but some good laughs, good locations and good basketball action make it an entertaining enough film to just veg out in front of. Not great but passable.

Kenya -1990s. St Joe's basketball team is famous but runs into a double crisis. For one, the acclaimed coach is going to retire and must name his successor. Moreover, the team is in dire need of a hoop star. Jimmy Dolan, ex-player and deputy coach, has therefore no choice but to find the star: his career is at stake. On a short video of a mission in Winabi (Kenya), he sees the star he needs. How to get there, to identify the player and to convince him to go back to the USA with him will however be quite a challenge! The spectator should not expect anything remotely intellectual or an even slightly probable description of Africa. But Kevin Bacon is good and the movie hilarious at times. A very entertaining, light movie, which beyond the classical story of friendship between two young men of different cultures (for once not too patronizing), shows quite interesting scenes of beautiful basketball and demonstrates a bit the incredible cult Americans make of sports in the environment of what is supposed to be tertiary education.

As someone who's never really been into sports, "The Air Up There" hardly seems like the sort of movie that I would like, but I did. When basketball talent scout Jimmy Dolan (Kevin Bacon) goes to Kenya to recruit a new player, he ends up finding Saleh, a chief's son whose skills exceed what anyone could have imagined. But before he moves to the states, there are some things that both sides are going to have to deal with.

This movie is interesting mainly for two reasons: it's good to see a sports movie that's not all about machismo, and a movie that looks at Kenyan culture (not one that we usually get to see). The movie isn't really any kind of masterpiece, but it never pretends to be one. There are some scenes that look like they were thrown in for comic relief (namely the goat milk). Pretty interesting.

So, without delving too deeply into the annals of "worst-to-first" sports movies, or counting off the multitude of "cultures in contact" stories, let me simply say this about the movie, "The Air Up There:" it succeeds, quite well in the mind of this critic, at what it sets out to accomplish. It is thematic, formulaic, and a tad predictable in parts, but none of that degrades its overall quality as a film. In fact, despite this movie getting lost somewhere in the recent history of film (and being overshadowed by similar movies such as "The Mighty Ducks"), I genuinely believe it to be the best movie of that genre, maybe ever, but certainly of this era.

Now, I'm aware some of you might raise eyebrows at that statement, but let me elaborate; Not only is the scenery absolutely breathtaking, but all of the artistic design, costume styling, and cinematography is beautiful. On top of that, the story is engaging, regardless of one's ability to forecast the ending at any point. Additionally, the mere fact that themes such as maturation, redemption, independence, loyalty, "progress," and family all play central roles in this film, should qualify it is a deeper work of art than countless (sports) movies of today.

Most significantly, this film contains something else that is occasionally lost in similar movies: DECENT ACTING. Say what you will about Kevin Bacon, or even this movie, but without a doubt, Kevin gives a wonderful, believable performance. He excellently displays the passion that is a prerequisite to be an athlete or coach in highly competitive sports such as College Athletics. Furthermore, the character Jimmy Dolan exhibits a wide gamut of emotions over the course of the story, and Mr. Bacon plays this perfectly. Interestingly, the best performance of the movie (and there are plenty of good ones: 'Kid' Sithole as Nyaga, Wilson Ntshona as Urudu, and Dikembe Mutombo's brother, Ilo, as Mifundo) comes not from Bacon, but from Charles Gitonga Maina, who inexplicably, has only appeared in one episode of SeaQuest DSV since this movie was made. He is immensely likable, charming, and completely believable as a star basketball player (after all, he was a world class sprinter in real life!) from a humble village. Truly, his performance is absolutely spectacular, even when placed within the context of the other stellar performances in the movie.

Is this movie perfect, devoid of all stereotypes and patronizing cinematic techniques? No. And yet, nothing is lost because of that fact. As it was over a decade ago, it remains a wonderful, adventurous, heart-warming movie, one that deserves a far more solid place in cinematic history than it has been relegated to. I, for one, love this movie, and usually watch it a couple times a year, enjoying it every bit as much with each successive viewing (in fact, I feel the truth of the matter is, I enjoy this film MORE with each successive watching, as I continue to find noteworthy facets every time).

In summation, I implore you to do yourself a favor: the next time you're feeling depressed, inadequate, or entirely stressed, rent or buy this movie, and watch it. I guarantee, you won't be able to make it to the end without a smile finding it's way onto your face.... :D